Page 27 of Searching for Valor

She turned and stormed out of the cabin, leaving a tense silence in her wake.

“You shouldn’t have said that,” Zak finally said, his tone devoid of the usual sarcasm.

Rylan exhaled sharply and raked a hand through his hair. He didn’t need Zak to tell him he’d crossed a line. He already knew it.

Shane cleared his throat, drawing everyone’s attention. “Let’s focus on what we know. Grace and Noah were taken by professionals who had a key to the cabin. We don’t know Monica’s involvement yet, but she’s missing, and that raises questions.” He turned to Rylan. “You and Izzy need to sort out your shit later. Right now, finding those kids is the priority.”

Rylan clenched his jaw but nodded. As much as it pained him to admit it, Shane was right. His issues with Izzy would have to wait.

“So what’s our next move?”Pierce asked, his brow furrowed as he studied the frozen image on the laptop screen.“Hate to say it, but this shit is above our pay grade.”

Nobody spoke for several seconds.

Finally, Zak groaned and scrubbed his hands over his face. “Fuck. We need to call Ash.”

“He’s gonna be pissed off that we didn’t clue him in sooner,” Donovan said.

“Yeah, when isn’t he pissed off?” He dug his cell phone out of his coat pocket and walked toward the door with Ranger tight on his heels. “I’ll handle him.”

chapter

nine

Rylan caughtup with Izzy just as she reached the edge of the cabin’s clearing. She was moving fast, her boots crunching over the frosty ground, her shoulders stiff with anger.

“Izzy, wait!” he called, his voice sharper than he intended.

She spun on her heel to face him, her eyes blazing with fury. “What, Rylan? Come to throw more accusations my way? Or maybe tell me how I’ve screwed up again?”

He stopped short, breathing hard, and clenched his fists. “I didn’t mean?—”

“Yes, you did,” she snapped, cutting him off. “You meant every word back there. You don’t trust me, and honestly, I don’t blame you. But that doesn’t give you the right to tear me down every chance you get.”

Her words hit him like a punch to the gut, but he forced himself to stand his ground. “This isn’t about trust?—”

“Bullshit,” she hissed, stepping closer. Her voice dropped, laced with bitterness. “This is about you not being able to see past your own anger. You think I don’t know what I did to you? To the team? I live with that guilt every damn day.”

Rylan’s jaw tightened, the memory of that morning flashing through his mind like a neon sign he couldn’t turn off. “Guilt doesn’t fix anything, Izzy.”

“No, it doesn’t,” she shot back. “But you know what else doesn’t fix anything? Drowning yourself in a bottle every night.”

His breath caught, and for a moment, he couldn’t speak. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Don’t play dumb with me,” she said, her voice trembling now. “You were drunk this morning, weren’t you? Or at least very hungover. Does your team know you’re drinking again?”

Rylan’s hands curled into fists, his prosthetic hand making an audible whirr as it tightened. It was the only answer he gave, but it was enough.

“I didn’t think so.” She took another step closer. “You think you’re the only one who’s hurting? You think you’re the only one who has to cope? Newsflash, Rylan: you’re not. But you don’t get to numb yourself and then turn around and judge me.”

The air between them crackled with tension, the anger giving way to something heavier, something they’d both been avoiding. He could feel it—the pull between them, as undeniable as gravity. Her chest rose and fell with quick breaths, her cheeks flushed, her lips slightly parted.

For one reckless moment, Rylan thought about closing the distance between them, about silencing her with the kiss they’d both been denying for too long. It would be good. He knew that with a bone-deep certainty that flooded his veins with heat. But it would also be a mistake.

A mistake he couldn’t afford to make.

A colossal, delicious, devastating mistake he desperately wanted to make.

He leaned down, his breath mingling with hers, and the heat of their anger morphed into a different kind of heat entirely. Izzy’s eyes widened, her pupils dilating, but she didn’t pull away.Instead, she tilted her chin up, a silent dare, a challenge he couldn’t resist.

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